tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post7934217827238606708..comments2018-03-19T20:39:26.739+00:00Comments on All That Is Solid ...: General Election 2017 OverviewPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-90480594964551927212017-04-29T19:59:35.815+01:002017-04-29T19:59:35.815+01:00Enjoyed your wee piece- thanks PhilEnjoyed your wee piece- thanks PhilAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-57067316732261439542017-04-29T06:39:49.969+01:002017-04-29T06:39:49.969+01:00What if the impending Tory electoral expenses scan...What if the impending Tory electoral expenses scandal erupts over the next few weeks as Tory MPs under investigation are convicted? That could have a pretty big unforeseen impact, no?David Parryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543341419630019419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-77034655893992099252017-04-28T23:29:33.584+01:002017-04-28T23:29:33.584+01:00«Electoral sabotage pure and simple.»
Including a...«<i>Electoral sabotage pure and simple.</i>»<br /><br />Including all the attacks on Labour by many &quot;friends&quot; for not doing a &quot;Remain&quot; campaign suicide run: a very clever tactic, because damned if you do: Labour loses a lot of seats in &quot;Leave&quot; areas, and damned if you don&#39;t: Labour is accused of betraying its referendum campaign and 64% of its members.<br />Blissexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-60273740358187653882017-04-28T23:24:32.420+01:002017-04-28T23:24:32.420+01:00«Yet when you sit back and think about it, you hav...«<i>Yet when you sit back and think about it, you have to ask why no one saw it coming.</i>»<br /><br />Because I suspect the event that triggered it was the start of the Boris Johnson leadership challenge campaign:<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/28/tory-mp-says-brexiteers-suppress-opposition-by-branding-it-subversive#comment-95769489<br />«<i>Herbert also claimed that a Tory government led by Boris Johnson rather than Theresa May might have pushed for further renegotiations after the referendum and made a “full-blooded Brexit” less likely.</i>»<br /><br />Obviously B Johnson can challenge T May for them leadership with a soft-Brexit policy alternative to her hard-Brexit messages, and a lot of Conservative MPs would support him for that. The Conservative rules are that the challenge can only happen once a year in the autumn. Next year would be a bad time for a challenge on change of Brexit policy, so he had to move this year.<br /><br />I think that my guess is supported by some unusual features of the call for election: the cabinet allegedly was not informed, it was a sudden decision, the campaign is all about the leader and having a &quot;strong and stable&quot; leadership, it is all played on the type of Brexit policy. If T May wins convincingly she and her Brexit policy become unchallengeable as Conservative leader at least until Brexit day, and probably until 2020 at least.Blissexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-43418629373258130662017-04-28T19:15:23.143+01:002017-04-28T19:15:23.143+01:00Even Labour List has commented on the lack of succ...Even Labour List has commented on the lack of success of Corbyn-supporting candidates in being adopted as PPC for a safe seat. In contrast, GMB whose leadership are anti-Corbyn seem to have had a number of their candidates selected. However, it looks very much as if a majority of new candidates will be backing Labour First rather than Progress. That it apart from the Progress Lewisham West PPC whose sister, husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law are all MPs. Who says nepotism is dead.Syzygyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15033334461020443772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-50353201351007160162017-04-28T13:41:17.156+01:002017-04-28T13:41:17.156+01:00Thank you for sharing this really great account of...Thank you for sharing this really great account of the last 7 days of pre-election fun. There are two gigantic psychedelic elephants in the room though: the Labour and Tory internal power struggles. <br /><br />May clearly wants to increase her majority - and thereby reduce the influence of her Brexiteer backbench nutters - in order to secure some wiggle room for a softer Brexit which would reflect the needs of her banker/car manufacturer backers.<br /><br />In Labour what we&#39;re seeing is preparation being made for another leadership challenge. Blair and Mandelson are encouraging Labour voters to vote Tory. The rather sinister Tom Watson (our deputy leader for heaven&#39;s sake) is neither seen nor heard. Tory-lite MPs in the PLP publicly refuse to endorse Corbyn. They refuse to stay on message and promote what is a really good, coherent, realistic, and relatively moderate policy offer. Electoral sabotage pure and simple.<br /><br />What of so-called Labour supporters in the media? John McTernan is the lowest kind of journalistic prostitute; he&#39;ll happily damn Labour for anyone who will pay him. More so than ever over the next six weeks I&#39;d say.<br /><br />I&#39;m off to the pub.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-68908015857119550852017-04-28T12:43:24.255+01:002017-04-28T12:43:24.255+01:00&quot;local Greens have been standing down their c...&quot;local Greens have been standing down their challenges.&quot; Yes but will they go on doing so if they get absolutely nothing in return from Labour? Greens made same offer in my area but were dismissed by local Labour coordinator, even though 2015 Green vote was 3,000+ and Tory majority was about 500. &quot;We fight every seat!&quot; was Labour&#39;s mantra.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com